An internal combustion engine conventionally includes an engine block with at least one cylinder. Each cylinder accommodates a piston, which is connected to a crankshaft via a connecting rod and, in conjunction with a cylinder head, defines a combustion chamber. A mixture of air and fuel is introduced into the combustion chamber and ignited in cyclical manner, thereby producing rapidly expanding gases that drive linear movements of the piston, which in turn are converted into rotation of the crankshaft by the connecting rod.
The waste gases produced by the combustion of the fuel are emitted into the atmosphere via an exhaust system. The exhaust system can include an exhaust manifold attached to the engine cylinder, an exhaust pipe extending away from the exhaust manifold, and one or more exhaust treatment devices operably coupled to the exhaust pipe in order to collect and/or alter the composition of the pollutants in the waste gases.
Some vehicles include a single exhaust treatment device. However, that device may be useful in some situations and ineffective in others. Also, these exhaust treatment devices can take up relatively large areas of space on the vehicle. Moreover, these devices can add significant weight to the vehicle, which can negatively affect fuel efficiency. Furthermore, these devices can include a relatively large number of parts, making manufacture of the vehicle difficult and time consuming.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an exhaust system with a plurality of exhaust treatment devices. It is also desirable to provide an exhaust system that is compact and lightweight. Moreover, it is desirable to provide a simplified exhaust system with a relatively low part count. Other objects, desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description, and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.